Striving to Better Serve our LGBT Patients

Since Mountain Park Health Center got its start almost 40 years ago, one of our key values has been to ensure all of our patients are treated with respect, dignity and receive the best care possible. As we approach Human Rights Day on December 10, we’d like to share a little of what we are doing to make sure that value is felt by our patients who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual ­or Transgender (LGBT).

More than a year ago, Mountain Park began to capture demographic information from patients regarding their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI).

Obtaining this information was important to help us enhance the experience patients have with their care teams at Mountain Park, while reducing barriers to care faced by those who identify as LGBT. A recent article from the New York Times also tells us that about 90 percent of patients actually want to disclose this information to their healthcare providers.

“Nearly 80 percent of providers surveyed believed that patients would refuse to disclose their sexual orientation. By Contrast, only 10 percent of patients from a randomized, national sample of lesbian, gay, bisexual and heterosexual subjects said they would refuse.”

We are proud that within this past year, more than 35,000 patients—96% of those asked—have completed our SOGI questionnaire. Data from these patients has given us a baseline to understand the percentage of our patients who identify as LGBT, and we know that a slightly higher percentage of Mountain Park patients identify as LGBT than the national average (4.5% vs. 4.1%).

We will continue to use this data for staff education in 2018 with a goal aimed at finding other ways to better welcome and serve the LGBT community now and for years to come.